Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Ruane. It is good to see her. This is my second meeting today. Earlier, I was at the Joint Sub-Committee on Mental Health where the subject of dual diagnosis was discussed. Ms Harris touched on this topic also. This is important. At the meeting in question, we discussed community-based organisations working on the ground directly with the people affected by the decisions we are making in this Parliament. To have two conversations like this around youth work in the one-day is fantastic. Ms Harris asked me if anything comes out of this committee and if anything really changes. We only really see this outcome when we are working on the coalface and see the changes that will make a difference to the young people we represent. I would like to think that sometimes this place does work and does bring about the changes Ms Harris wants. She is preaching to the converted here.

I am a product of probably one of the first informal youth diversion projects. It was 30 years ago and involved Ronanstown youth centre. I am showing my age now. It was a facility that was there and open for me. It was targeted to me, and to others like me, who were disengaged and disconnected. We had nowhere to go. We were probably barred from many of the centres. I was out of the football teams at the time because of my behaviour. I did not fit into the norms of society back then. The community then reached out, wrapped its arms around me, looked after me and gave me a start. I have always been very grateful for that.

I was listening to Ms Harris when she was talking about youth suicide in our area, in north Clondalkin in 2000. I remember it well. I get emotional when I think about it. Many of the children or young people who died were children of friends of mine. I remember the impact that it had on the community and how frightened we were as a community about where the next one would come from and who it would be. Any time something happened, you would bring your kids in, minding your kids and keeping an eye on them. But I was never so proud of how the community engaged and everyone put their loving arms around one another at that time. The outcome of that was Jigsaw. Jigsaw was absolutely fantastic in our area until it decided it would not be in our area any more. We had our battles over that. Mental health came up a number of times today in relation to the lack of mental health services across the different communities in here today.

One question I have relates to something that Ms Harris, Mr. Sharpe and Mr. Roe mentioned around recognising youth workers. I acknowledge that Senator Ruane spoke about it a minute ago. At present, youth projects are holding young people in many areas, including that of mental health, as I mentioned because the services are not there, in judicial areas because the Garda diversion projects are probably full or are not always there and in respect of early school leavers. Moreover, poverty underpins all that, as we know. The people in the youth projects are those in our communities who are dealing with that daily. There are challenges around not recognising youth workers. Ms Harris said that they are asking for the professionalisation and recognition of youth work by the State and for funding and salaries to be brought in line with counterparts in the public sector such as Tusla and the HSE so that there is parity of esteem and recognition. What would it look like? How would it benefit our communities and the young people they represent? I know the answer but I want to give people the opportunity to put it on the record.